Sentimental, but Stupid
by teal'c08
Summary: What happens when Brennan goes to see Howard Epps during "The Man in the Cell" ***alternate ending


_Temperance Brennan stands looking through the clear glass window of the sterile hospital room as her partner, Seely Booth, sits at the bedside of Cam, her limp hand clutched tightly between two of his own. Her eyes soften as she watches her partner in such pain over the weak form of her boss and his pseudo-girlfriend. She has made up her mind. She knows what she has to do. Turning her back to the glass window, she pulls out her cell phone and dials a number she never wanted to call._

"Howard, its Dr. Brennan. I have a proposition for you."_ (_I know that she technically doesn't know his cell phone number, but he did call from the same cell twice, so they _could_ have the number)

Brennan walks through the halls of her building but doesn't stop at the familiar wooden door to her apartment. Instead, she goes to the next door over and slowly pushes it open. She creeps inside, carefully watching for any sudden movements that would mean more danger for her. Seeing no obvious danger, she walks into the apartment and closes the door behind her. A man walks in for the other room.

"Ahh, Doctor Brennan, we finally meet again." He says with a creepy smirk on his face. Temperance bites her tongue to stop herself from saying the multitude of comebacks that are currently flying through her head.

"What was the poison, Epps?" She says after taking a deep breath. That was the deal. He tells her what the poison was to save Cam and she offers herself up to him in return, to do with as he wills.

"Oh come now, _Temperance_, I want to enjoy this for a bit first." He replies as he calmly takes a seat on the tarp-covered couch. Brennan's eyes close for just a second before they open to reveal her fierce determination. "Just give me the poison, Howard." She says sternly. "You can do whatever you want to do to me after."

The 'creepy serial killer' smirks as he approaches her. He leans towards her ear and she has to fight to keep herself from backing away from his body. He whispers the word that would prove to be Cam's salvation in her ear as she consciously controls the shiver that threatens to wrack her body. She pulls out her phone to call Hodgins so that he could get started on finding the antidote, but she is stopped by a hand closing over her wrist. "Uh, uh, uh, Doctor Brennan. Can't have you calling for help and getting out of here, now can we?" He says as he stealthily pushes a needle into her arm and injects a sedative into her bloodstream. She barely has time to react before she feels her body grow weak and heavy. He drags her towards the couch and handcuffs her to one of the legs. He then pulls out her cell phone and sends a text to Hodgins informing him of the poison. Say what you will about him, but Howard Epps was a man of his word.

Hodgins is sitting at his desk, wracking his brain to try to figure out what poison was currently endangering the life of his boss. The sudden ringing of his phone abruptly breaks him out of his revere, causing him to jump in his chair. Opening message, he sees that Brennan has found out the poison. Not even thinking about why the message would be that simple or why she didn't call him or tell him in person, he runs out of the room to where Booth and Angela are standing over the body of a victim, trying to figure anything out. "Brennan just sent me the name of the poison." He says as he runs over to the computer in the room to research the mysterious white powder. Within seconds, he finds the antidote and calls the hospital to let them know. Meanwhile, Booth runs over the information in his head. Something didn't add up. "Wait, you said she sent you the name of the poison?"  
"Yeah." Hodgins replies absentmindedly while he further analyzes the toxin. Now that he knew what it was, he needs to figure out what was masking it. Booth still isn't satisfied.

"That doesn't make sense. How did she find out what it was and why didn't she call? That's not like Bones." He says, the last part more of a mumble to himself.

"Plaster dust." Shaken out of his trance-like contemplation, Booth looks at the 'bug-and-slime' expert, repeating the words to himself over and over to himself under his breath until everything seemed to click into place. Eyes wide, he grabs his jacket and runsout of the room.

"Booth! What's going on?" Angela yells. He barely pauses. "I know where Epps is." He says, but she could tell that there was more to it than that.

"Dude, you have to know where your priorities lie. 1) Be there when your girlfriend comes back from the brink of death. 2) catch the serial killer." Booth stops dead in his tracks. Turning around, he looks the shorter man directly in the eyes. "I know _exactly_ where my priorities lie. Epps has Bones." Before anyone could respond, he is out the door and in his SUV on his way to Brennan's apartment while calling for backup.

His steps don't hesitate when he reaches the familiar wooden doorway that leads to Brennan's apartment. Instead, they continued on steadily until he reaches the door of the apartment next to hers, the apartment that was being renovated. Booth quickly, but quietly, opens the unlocked door, letting himself into the room with holes in the walls and tarp-covered furniture. He walks through the small entry way until he entered the living room. What he finds almost makes him fall to his knees.

Booth makes his way to the unconscious figure on the couch gun still raised protectively. He kneels by Brennan's head and quickly checks her over for any obvious injuries. He gently pushes back her hair and strokes her head almost reverently. A sound from behind him shifts his focus from Brennan to the figure in the doorway, his gun automatically rising.

"What did you do to her, Epps." He says in his patented 'no funny business' tone.

"No why would you think I did something to the lovely Dr. Brennan?"

"I know Bones. There is no way in hell that you would be able to get her here without at least drugging her first."

"But I didn't have to get her here, Agent Booth. She came _all_ on her own." Why would she do that?

"I would guess that Dr. Brennan doesn't like seeing her friend in pain." Epps says, as if he had read Booth's mind. Booth momentarily shifts his focus back to his partner, his eyes softening.

The rest of the conversation passes in a blur. All Booth really cared about was that in the end, he had Howard Epps pressed against the wall with cuffs encasing his wrists. He passed the escaped convict to another agent, ignoring Epps' rambles about how this won't be the last of him.

He turns to the couch once again to see Bones slowly coming back to consciousness. He quickly resumes his knelt position next to her and places his hand on her back to support her as she sat up. "Hey. Welcome back there, Bones." The slight quiver in his voice betrays his light words.

The aforementioned forensic anthropologist blinks twice to clear her slightly dazed-over eyes. "Booth? What happened?" She askes, still a little out of it. Booth wraps his hand around her forearm and gently guides her into a standing position. "Well, Bones, I would think it would be pretty obvious. I mean, when you voluntarily go see a known psychotic serial killer, being drugged can't be entirely unexpected." He says, his tone light, but his message clear.

The two partners sit in an otherwise deserted hospital room, Brennan sitting on the examination table in a hospital gown. She doesn't seem to be injured in any way; they just have to let the sedative pass through her system. Booth has remained relatively silent during his partner's exam, but he can't hold his tongue anymore.

"Why'd you do it, Bones?" He askes his tone devoid of its usual sarcastic tint. He fights to maintain eye contact with his partner, but she stubbornly avoids his gaze, not a usual occurrence.

"Does it matter, Booth? We caught Epps. We got the bad guy. It's what we do, so what does the method matter?" She replies, her gaze still obstinately turned away. Booth's eyes widen and he quickly makes his way over to her and forces her gaze to focus on his.

"It matters, Bones. It matters because you could have been _killed_ because you went to him on your own. What were you thinking? That's why we're partners, Bones, so that we don't have to go alone anymore." He says, his eyes boring into hers, showing his sincerity.

"Look, Epps wasn't going to stop. He told me anything that happened would be my fault." Booth opens his mouth to interrupt her, but she raises her hand, stopping him before he could start. "Logically, I know that his actions were all his own, but I still couldn't shake the feelings of guilt. He almost killed Cam, Booth. He went after Parker. He wasn't just hurting me, he was going after you. I couldn't let that happen, so did what I had to do st-" Brennan's words are cut off as Booth presses a kiss her lips. Brennan hesitates, but eventually responds, the kiss turning passionate.

"That is the most sentimental thing I think I've ever heard you say, Bones." He gives her another chaste kiss to her lips. "Never, _**ever**_, to do something that amazingly stupid again, Bones." He says before they resume kissing. "Let's go, Bones."


End file.
